Fostering Assessment Manager

Polaris
Role: Fostering Assessment Manager
Location: Remote
Contract: Full Time, Permanent – 35 hours per week
Salary: Up to £49,000 per annum

Benefits

• 30 days’ annual leave, rising to 35 days with length of service + bank holidays
• Car Allowance
• Company Pension
• Life Assurance
• Employee Discount Scheme

About Us

We are Polaris, one of the UK’s largest communities of children’s service providers. Within the community, we have independent fostering and adoption agencies who have been passionately improving the lives of young people for over 30 years, as well as leaving care services, residential, education and bespoke children’s services contracts. Our nurturing community works collectively to support the very best outcomes for each and every child in our care. We’re ambitious for our children and young people, families and staff, and believe in their futures.

We are delighted to be seeking an Assessment Manager to join our established assessment team to provide support, robust leadership and management to the foster parent assessment process.

This is an excellent opportunity to further develop your management skills within fostering and to become part of a highly supportive environment where the focus is on delivering high-quality foster parents for the country’s most vulnerable children.

What We Are Looking For

We are looking for a passionate Assessment Manager, who shares our goal to achieve the very best outcomes for children and young people.

As an Assessment Manager, you will take the lead in delivering high-quality foster parent recruitment and assessments, ensuring compliance with statutory requirements, quality standards, and performance targets. You’ll manage the end-to-end assessment journey, working closely with internal and external stakeholders.

As an experienced social worker who is familiar with social work assessments and Form F assessment reports, you will have excellent organisational skills, an ability to meet deadlines, and demonstrate effective communication to achieve results.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the recruitment and assessment of foster parents from enquiry through to panel approval
• Ownership of ensuring quality and timeliness of assessments
• Build strong partnerships with internal teams and external stakeholders
• Analyse data and trends to support service improvement and business planning
• Provide guidance and professional advice on fostering regulations and best practice
• Demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding, ensuring all concerns are managed appropriately and promptly
• Contribute to panel processes, as required

About You

• Hold a professionally recognised qualification in Social Work
• Must have a minimum of four years’ experience as a qualified social worker in a children and family setting
• Strong experience/knowledge of foster parent recruitment and assessment, from generating enquiries to approval, including Form F, and the assessment and panel process
• Sound knowledge of fostering legislation, regulations, and standards
• Experience working with fostering panels and performance targets
• Excellent report writing, communication, and stakeholder management skills
• Must possess a full driving licence
• Fully proficient in the full suite of Microsoft Office

We are an equal opportunities employer.

The successful applicant will be subject to a DBS check.

Polaris is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff to share this commitment.

We reserve the right to withdraw this advert without notification.